Improved artificial fuel



UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

ALFRED DE LENTILHAG, OF TAMAQUA. PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED ARTIFICIAL FUEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 52,397, dated February6, 1866.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED DE LENTILHAO, a subj ct of the Empire ofFrance, but now residing at Tamaqna,in the county of Schuylkill andState of Pennsylvania, have' invented or discovered a new and usefulprocess and composition for making artificial fuel and util izin gtherein the fine coal or screenings which at present is regarded as notonly valueless, but as an incumbrauce; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description-of the same, firstpromising that I am aware that many attempts have been made to utilizeand burn culm, or fine coal, and that it has been essayed to mix it withcoal-tar and press it into bricks or lumps and then drythem in ovens.

The best evidence that all theseattempts have been fruitless andresulted in nothing beneficial or useful is in the factthat no cheapartificial fuel of this or indeed of any other kind is to be found inthe market, and the acres of culm, or fine coal, still accumulates andhas no value.

My invention consists partially in the proeess-and partially in thecomposition by which I make the artificial fuel in questiOm-andmay bestated as follows First, the clean coal-dust is reduced to afinecondition by-rollin'g', crushing, or grinding; second, this finecoal-dust is mixed with a liquid paste or gluten; third,

. from four to six per cent. in weight of hot coal- To enable othersskilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed todescribe the same as l'have successfully practiced it.

I first sift the coal-dust, (preferring that of the anthracite or hardcoal,) so as to separate the slate and other crude matterfrom it. Theclean coal-dust is then reduced to a fine condition by passing itbetween rollers or in any pasty mixture above described is putinto moldsof any suitable form and size and submitted to heavy pressure sufiicientto give it the firmness or solidity that will hold it together whilebeing removed and vplaced on hurdles or drier-s, where thebrieks orblocks remaiufor one or two days until dried. The dried bricks or blocksare then placed in sheet or other iron boxes, -hermetically closed, andput into a cooking-oven, where they are baked from three to four hours,-and when taken out and cooled thefuel is ready for use.

vIn this process the; sulphur and iodine are driven'ofl' and thefu'el'is nearly pure carbon,

and may be termed coke from anthracite coal}? I which is a new productfrom thatkind of coal. 7

The fuel thus made is hard, firm, and com;- pact, not friable, andthrows off no smokeor gas, and leaves no residuum in burning. butcleanashes. It caube handled without soil-1 ing the hands, and isparticularly useful in makingor refining iron, as it does not make slagor clinker or run down into a solid mass, through which it is difficultto drive a blast of air to promote combustion. Being divested of all ofits injurious properties, this fuel will not burn out grates, stoves,and furnaces, as crude coal will do. Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

An artificial fuel composed of fine coal-dust, vegetable gluten, andcoal-tar, pressed into bricks o-r'bloeks,dried,then placed inhermetically-sealed iron boxes and baked or coked in a hot oven,substantially as and for the purpose described.

A. DE LENTILHAO. Witnesses: x

A. BLSTOUGHTON,

J. F. GIRARD.

